You would think a bustling and vibrant city like Toronto would be an ideal location for a high-profile casino. A lot of people seem to think that it’s a good idea, yet there are still those who think it isn’t.
One group, in particular, took action recently with the sole purpose of putting a stop to the city’s plan of rolling the dice on a casino. The group calls themselves No Casino Toronto and they’re trying to build up enough support and endorsement from local citizens in an effort to resist the movement of putting up a casino in one of Canada’s biggest metropolises, as reported by the Toronto Sun.
NCT have a number of claims in their bags on the proverbial demerits of putting up a casino in an urban city like Toronto. Maureen Lynett, a co-founder of NCT, argued that a casino would have a ” negative impact on society”.
“A mega casino would increase problem gambling, hurt families and cause job losses at surrounding business.”
Councilor Adam Vaughan was even more straightforward with his criticism of a new casino being put up in Toronto. Not one to mince his words, Vaughan described casino proponents as making “wild promises” that amounts to nothing more than “corporate pornography”.
Actress Bonnie Anderson also voiced her opinion, saying that casinos don’t do anything else but “brainwash people”.
“Casinos are built so the outside doesn’t exist. There are no windows. They don’t want people to know what kind of day it is outside,” she said. “They want to keep away anything that could distract a person from staying at the table and playing.”
Despite the growing number of opposition on the proposed casino in Toronto, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) is sticking to its guns, saying that the NCT needs to get its facts straight before lashing out on the issue. In a statement, the CGA said: “Reliable research shows the development of a resort-style casino has had either no effect or a positive effect on nearby hospitality and tourism facilities, and, in fact, surrounding industries have grown with the introduction of casinos”.
